


simplicity is bliss

by anyabarnes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blood, Character Death, Character Study, Feelings, Gen, Happy Bucky Barnes, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Murder, Nostalgia, Self-Indulgent, i am so happy with how this turned out ugh, its not much but it means a lot to me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 09:30:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20240635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anyabarnes/pseuds/anyabarnes
Summary: He hoped he wasn’t going to die.That would be a shame.





	simplicity is bliss

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!

The world was terribly noisy, Bucky had decided. He hummed as he danced around, his feet brushing the floor as his ma had once brushed his own hair. The record player skipped softly, Kitty Kallen's’ voice wrapping around his head like a cloud. His window lay open, the breeze whispering through the curtains, making them dance through the air.

How poetic.

Bucky’s hair sat just below his ears, a halo of frizz surrounding his head. His eyes caught on the moonlight every so often, reflecting shards of blue, the same shade as the water that used to brush up against his ankles when he would take Stevie to Coney Island. The sand would sit in between their toes, staying with them for days on end.

Oh, how he missed that.

He rolled his shoulders, taking in a deep breath of air. It wasn’t nearly as fresh as it had been, he thought absentmindedly. He could still remember the feeling of the fresh fall breeze dancing around as his ma would push him on the old wooden swing they had set up in their backyard.

Sometimes, if he tried hard enough, he could hear her voice, singing in the kitchen as she made baked apples. It was always some old love song, the type he would dance too on those late summer nights. Stevie would always step on his toes, scuffing up the tips of his Sunday’s best. His ma had scolded him for it time after time, even though she couldn’t help but smile at him.

He missed that.

Living in a new world was tiring. Sometimes, he wanted nothing more than to cuddle up in his ma’s old blankets, worn thin just from use, and listen to his sisters talk to each other about nothing and everything all at once. There was just something simpler about it. Something that made him feel like a kid again.

There was a rustle outside his window. Bucky didn’t bother looking.

The oven dinged. Bucky rushed over and opened it, careful not to touch the pan. The smell of sweet apple-cinnamon flooded the apartment, filling up every corner with the smell of home. He grabbed his oven mitt, a floral design Stevie had gotten for him a long, long time ago, and pulled the pan out of the oven. The pie was a beautiful golden brown, reminiscent of a long summer day.

He turned around, balancing the pie in his one hand. He started walking over to his window, wanting to let the pie cool off with the fresh, cool air of a summer night. His ma had always done it that way. She would set the pies out and let them cool off, swatting the hands of Bucky and his sisters away from the still-warm pastry.

Something rustled outside his window again. Bucky frowned. He needed to talk to his neighbors about keeping their cat in their house. He didn’t want the poor thing getting lost. That would be such a shame.

Something clicked behind him.

He heard a loud bang.

He felt a sharp pain in his back

He was falling.

Was that blood?

The curtains kept dancing.

His fingers were shiny, the soft moonlight reflecting off of them. Moonlight. What a beautiful word. The almost glass light reflection, dancing around the edge of his fingers.

He smiled.

How absurd.

His eyes fell on the moon. His chest filled with emotion he couldn’t describe, gazing up into the sky.

It was the one thing that hadn’t ever changed, the sky. He looked at the same moon he had looked at seventy years ago, the same stars dancing across the sky. He could feel the floor beneath him getting wet. He frowned. He hoped he didn’t damage the floor. It would be a pain to remove the stain.

His vision went blurry, then fixed itself.

He turned his head over, eyes fixing themselves on the pie. The pie! There it was, turned over on the floor, the soft apple filling spilled out next to him. That was such a shame. The dough had taken him a while to make, and it was going to be annoying to try and remake it. At least he wouldn’t have to decode his ma’s handwriting this time around.

His back was really starting to hurt.

He hoped he wasn’t going to die.

That would be a shame.

There were so many places he had never been. So many movies he had never seen. So many books he had never read. He really didn’t want to die now. He would be with his ma, though. His ma, with her soft brown hair, always thrown into a messy bun. Her heels always click-clacking against the wooden floor of their kitchen.

He had missed her most of everything and everyone.

The record finally ended, the machine now emitting a soft white noise.

He didn't mind it.

The back of his neck was getting wet. He strained back to touch it, gritting his teeth in agony. He tried to focus on the smell of apple pie overwhelming his senses, or the way the shadows of the curtains danced over the wooden floor. They really were beautiful curtains.

When he brought his hand back, it was covered in blood. The moonlight reflected off, highlighting the deep red color. How absurd, the blood was. It was the color of love, of passion, of the red dress Bonnie wore when he took them all out for a dance at the Speakeasy.

It was also the color of death.

Bucky tried to ignore that.

He wasn’t going to die. He had so much left to experience.

He took a deep breath, feeling his ribs stretch harshly against his back, he could see the blood blooming around the front of his shirt. Such a shame. He had liked this shirt.

He smiled, thinking of Stevie. Stevie had ruined every shirt he got his hands on, always trying to get himself into trouble. It was endearing, to a point, having to pull Stevie out of every little scuffle he got into. He would have to drag Stevie home and patch it up before his ma came back from home, or else Sarah was going to give it to him. She had always tasked Bucky with trying to keep Stevie safe.

It’s funny how it was Stevie who ended up saving Bucky.

Bucky let out a huff of laughter. He was getting quite tired.

Maybe he should rest, just for a moment.

The pie lay next to him, forgotten.

Bucky placed his hand over his heart. It was beating fast.

Weird.

He tried to take a deep breath in.

His body hurt too much.

Maybe, just maybe, he should take a nap.

He’s only closing his eyes for a moment.

It won’t hurt anyone.

And maybe while he’s there, he’ll see his ma.

Oh what a dream that would be.

He smiled softly and closed his eyes.

And, for once, the world was quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> this was vv self indulgent and entirely a fic for me but i figured! hey! someone might like it right! 
> 
> please leave a comment or kudo or something of the sort! it makes me so happy to hear that people are enjoying my stuff!
> 
> i love you all! you matter so much! please remember to be kind to yourself. you deserve it <3


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